As You Wish
by Tasi
Summary: Because watching the Princess Bride is as good as therapy. IchiRuki


AN: There is some mild cussing, so you have been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or The Princess Bride.

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**As You Wish**

The tension had been building for a while now, and everyone knew that the dam could break at anytime. After a couple of false alarms, Ishida, Chad and Orihime carefully skirted around issues dealing with executions, self-sacrifice, and Soul Society, to prevent any new cracks from forming. But all that walking on egg shells had them worn out and wondering just how much longer it would take, because seriously, after two months, you would think those two would have at least moved past denial. Alas, there was nothing they could do but wait and hope that when the sleeping dragon does awake, they're not in the line of fire.

It was a relatively quiet Sunday afternoon in the Kurosaki house. Karin had dragged Isshin and Yuzu to the park, so she could play soccer with Jenta and the others. Kon had been hog tied by Rukia earlier and was presently hanging from a hook in Ichigo's closet. Rukia and Ichigo, after she had mercilessly beat him on the head with a wooden spoon until he had relented, were currently downstairs watching The Princess Bride. Well, Rukia was watching it, Ichigo was silently cursing the bastard who made the film.

He remembered when Yuzu had gotten it for her tenth birthday. She pleaded with big eyes for him to watch it with her, and Ichigo, being a sucker for wide eyed sisters, agreed unknowingly sealing his fate forever. Because now it seemed that any time this particular movie was played, Ichigo found himself sitting on the couch next to some female listening to her inane commentary. Now Ichigo, being a reasonable guy, wouldn't have minded this sick form of torture had it been any other movie, but it was the fucking Princess Bride. He had hated it the first time he saw it, and the second, and the third, and the million times afterwards, and he certainly wasn't going to start liking it now.

Though he had to admit watching it with Rukia wasn't all that bad, she at least kept her comments to herself. It was kind of amusing really how totally engrossed she was with the movie, how her eyes grew in circumference on the introduction of the R.U.S.es, or how she quietly coached Inigo Montoya on his swordsmanship. It was a good change from the sorrowful, faraway look that seemed permanently stuck on her face.

It had been two months now, and Ichigo could tell that was all she ever thought about in between school and fighting Hollows. It was a lot to absorb, being betrayed by pretty much everyone you care about, so Ichigo gave her space knowing that some people heal faster than others. He, himself, had been in shock for the first days back, but soon got over it as things went back to normal. He put the whole thing behind him, shoving it into a box, and storing it in a far isolated corner of his mind. He then slid it over to make room for another box, containing the voice that said people don't move on by storing things away, Ichigo had replied that he begged to differ and slammed the lid shut.

Rubbing a hand across his face, Ichigo glanced at the television to see how far the movie had progressed. His heart leapt for joy as he noticed that the movie was on its last leg. This was the part when Prince Humperdinck has Westley tortured to death. _Oh shit_, Ichigo thought as his heart plummeted into this stomach. Rukia, like every other girl, was by now probably madly in love with Westley and seeing him die, in Ichigo's book, was a very, very, very bad thing.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, Ichigo tried to gauge the damage. To his relief, she wasn't crying, or about to cry, or showing any signs of sadness. Instead, her eyes were narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed in a familiar expression that Ichigo couldn't put his finger on. He watched as Rukia picked up the DVD remote and pressed pause. After staring at the screen for a minute, she turned to face Ichigo, and instantly it hit him – Rukia was pissed.

Before he could even begin to wonder why, Ichigo felt something hard slap his shoulder. He blinked only to notice that Rukia had moved and was now standing over him brandishing a wooden spoon.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled rubbing his stinging shoulder. Her response came as a hard whack on the head.

"What the fuck?" Ichigo threw up his hands, trying to protect his head from getting more lumps. After a short struggle, he was able to pry the spoon away from her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted jumping up from the couch as he rubbed his sore head.

"What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?" Rukia screamed back, completely unfazed that her weapon was gone.

"What? I didn't do anything!"

"Like hell you didn't! I told you not to come. I told you but you didn't listen to me. You're a fucking moron! Crashing in like that without a plan. You could have…you could have…you could have died." Rukia whispered the last part as if saying it too loud would some how make it a reality.

Ichigo sighed, his expression softening a bit as he realized what this was all about, "Don't you think I know that?"

"Then why did you come?"

Ichigo froze like a deer caught in headlights, for once he was speechless. Why? It was a question he had never asked himself. Sure he had told everyone else that he was returning a favor, but that wasn't the real reason. No, the real reason was somewhere in that box. _Why, why, why?_ He thought as he tentatively opened it slowly beginning his search, but a cool hand jarred him back to reality, causing the contents to spill everywhere.

"Ichigo?" Rukia prodded worry evident in her voice. Ichigo just stared at her trying to quickly come up with a Ichigo type of response to keep face but he when he opened his mouth something very un-Ichigo spilled out .

"Because I didn't want things to go back to the way they were." Ichigo knew he should stop there, and his brain was screaming at his to shut up. But the dam had been opened and nothing could stop the water.

"The second you left everything starting feeling wrong and out of whack, like all the air was being sucked out of the world. And I hated it. Absolutely hated it. So I went after you to bring you back, so you could make everything right again. I knew it would be dangerous, that I could very well end up dead. But I didn't care because…because I would rather die then face life without you."

The screaming in his head stopped as Ichigo realized just what he had said. His face turned a brilliant shade a red rivaling his orange hair, as his heart decided to go for a swim in his stomach. Rukia, however, just stared at him, her face expressionless. After a minute of awkward silence, Ichigo open his mouth to take it back, but snapped it shut when Rukia made the three foot gap between them to three inches.

"Ichigo," she said quietly with a tone that turned his brain into mush. Rukia paused, drawing in a deep breathe, before she screamed, "You are the biggest, most selfish bastard in the world! Did you ever stop to think about me? Did you just presume that I could live without you? That's the whole freaking reason I left, so Nii-sama wouldn't kill you! Do you know how scared I was when Renji told me you were in Soul Society? I was scared shitless, because all I could think about was you bleeding to death. Even now, just the thought of you dying makes me…"

Ichigo didn't hear the last part because the next thing he knew he was kissing Rukia, and she was kissing him back, and it was all very, very, very good. He felt her hands slide up his arms and into his hair, as she tried to deepen the kiss. Ichigo was more than willing to oblige, as he wrapped his right arm around her waist pulling her closer. They broke the kiss only when oxygen became imperative, and only for a second. This time Rukia was the one to instigate the kiss, and as soon as her tongue brushed Ichigo's, he knew he could so get used to this.

After what Ichigo could only describe as the best however many minutes of his life, they both pulled apart leaning on each other as they caught their breathe. Rukia was the first to recover, narrowing her eyes in mock anger. "I still think you're a complete idiot."

"I know," Ichigo replied trying to keep a straight face but failing when Rukia smiled at him. She really had a beautiful smile, and Ichigo made a mental note to make her do it more. "So what happens now?"

"Well," Rukia said grabbing his hand and pulling him to the couch, "First we finish the movie."

"And after that?" He asked once they had situated themselves.

"Then we play it by ear," Rukia said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before snuggling closer, "Got a problem with that?"

"No, no," Ichigo smirked, turning his attention toward what was now his favorite movie, "As you wish."

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FYI: In the Princess Bride, Westley when he was a farmboy always said "As you wish." whenever Buttercup ordered him around. After awhile she realizes that "As you wish" means "I love you" and they become an item. If you haven't seen the movie I would highly suggest you do.

AN: I started this piece with the mind to make it serious, but some how it came out to be...whatever this is. I apologize profusely for wasting your time.


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